Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Has $24.19 Million Stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,105,832 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 170,592 shares during the period. Avantor accounts for 2.4% of Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC owned about 0.16% of Avantor worth $24,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 17,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 3,733 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 27.5% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 50,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 10,980 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 19.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,442,000 after buying an additional 165,565 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Avantor by 7.4% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 50,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 3,492 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Avantor by 7.1% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 196,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,084,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Trading Up 11.6 %

Shares of AVTR stock opened at $15.93 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.63. The stock has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.80 and a 1 year high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,788.12. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AVTR shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

Avantor Company Profile

Avantor, Inc engages in the provision of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education and government, advanced technologies, and applied materials industries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers materials and consumables, such as purity chemicals and reagents, lab products and supplies, formulated silicone materials, customized excipients, customized single-use assemblies, process chromatography resins and columns, analytical sample prep kits, education and microbiology products, clinical trial kits, peristaltic pumps, and fluid handling tips.